Surprise! U.S. Adds 288,000 Jobs in April 2014

Posted by
bladm on
May 07, 2014

According to this month’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report, employment rose by 288,000 jobs. This surprised economists, as their original projection was just 215,000 added positions. Instead, last month turned into a record breaker: April 2014 was the best month for job creation since January of 2012. For many economists, this is a signal that the U.S. is officially rebounding from the freeze – both in hiring and weather – of the first quarter.

Unemployment rate falls after a stagnant first quarter

In case you need another reason to be optimistic about April’s numbers, the unemployment rate finally fell .4 percentage points last month. The unemployment rate was at a standstill for three months, resting at 6.7 percent. The new unemployment rate of 6.3 percent is .3 percentage points lower than the originally predicted 6.6 percent.

BLS Revisions: February and March 2014

Within the BLS May 2014 report, there were two revision notes about previously reported job numbers. In February, it was originally reported that 197,000 jobs were created; however, that number has since been corrected to to 222,000. March’s numbers were also revised. The original number of 192,000 was actually revised to 203,000 added jobs.

Temporary Employment Continues to Surge Upward

The Professional & Business Services sector continued to show moderate growth, adding 75,000 jobs in April. Computer Systems Design saw the addition of 8,900 jobs, while Administrative & Support Services added 37,600 jobs.

Stealing the spotlight again this month, though, is Temporary Help Services. According to the latest report, there were 24,000 temporary jobs added in April. Between last month’s numbers of over 28,000, and this month’s 24,000, the sector continues to see the largest year-over-year gain in temp hiring since July 2012.

Some economists believe this is an extremely positive turn for the workforce, as some of these temporary jobs may turn into fulltime employment opportunities for American workers.

For Your Consideration: Labor Force Participation Rate Decline

In April, the U.S. saw a significant decline in the labor force participation rate. Some economists are stating that this decline may have greatly influenced the .4 percentage point drop in the month’s unemployment rate; however, others report that it could be a case of baby-boomer aging and retirement.

For perspective, the labor force participation rate is currently 62.8 percent, which is a decline of 806,000 persons from the previous month.

What’s your interpretation of May’s jobs report?

Do you think that these 288,000 jobs are just a start for even bigger and better numbers for 2014? What are your predictions for the coming months? We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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